Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the Government of the Northwest Territories and its single window service centre model has been recognized for its innovative management by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, or known as IPAC.

The Government of the Northwest Territories was one of 10 national finalists for the IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award for 2014 in the Federal/Provincial/Territorial category. This prestigious award recognizes organizations and their leaders that have demonstrated outstanding leadership by taking bold steps to improve Canada through advancements in public policy and management.

I am delighted to inform this House that the single window service centre model was awarded the bronze medal. This is the fourth IPAC Award the Government of the Northwest Territories has received. Previous recipients include the Government of the Northwest Territories Executive Council, Department of Transportation and the South Slave Divisional Board of Education.

On Thursday evening, Celine Proctor, our government services officer from Fort Good Hope, representing all of our government services officers, along with George Morin, manager of the single window service centre program; Dan O’Neill, regional director; Penny Ballantyne, deputy minister of the Department of Executive; and Betty Arden, administrative assistant, represented the Government of the Northwest Territories at the

Gala Awards Dinner at IPAC’s 10th Annual Leadership Conference in Toronto.

Mr. O’Neill and his staff in the regional office, in collaboration with regional director Peter Clarkson, have championed this program and have worked diligently to ensure its success. During the gala, a short video was presented showcasing the uniqueness of the Northwest Territories, and how this service delivery model is helping residents in small communities gain access to much needed government programs and services.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased with this program, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff in the Department of Executive, and the community government services officers, who have worked hard to improve resident access to our programs and services and provide outreach to all our citizens, particularly our elders in our most remote communities.

As I mentioned earlier, in the audience Thursday night was one of our government services officers, Celine Procter, who started with the program when it was first launched in 2010. Celine is from Fort Good Hope, she speaks the language of her community and has helped countless residents. This includes elders, sitting at their kitchen tables, helping them to navigate their way through the sometimes complex federal and Northwest Territories programs and services.

As Members know, the single window service centres are located in 18 offices across the Northwest Territories, soon to be 20, with new offices being established in Trout Lake and Wekweeti. This model has been a resounding success and has reached out to residents in our more remote communities. To date, over 19,000 resident inquiries have been assisted through these offices.

Mr. Speaker, supporting all communities and regions is a priority for our government. We have funded from within these additional government services officer positions, which supports this Assembly’s priority of providing employment opportunities in small communities. The single window service centres and government services officers program proves that we can provide more efficient services by creating positions in smaller communities to help residents connect with the

programs and services they need. I want to thank Members for their continued support for this initiative. It is truly making a difference and is now a nationally recognized model that is the envy of other jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, in January the Premier and I led a second trade mission of NWT business representatives and government officials to China and Japan. Our delegation included NWT tour operators, partners in our fur and fashion industries, and a member of our territory’s diamond manufacturing sector, Ms. Verda Law of Yellowknife Tours, Mr. Ragnar Wesstrom of Enodah Wilderness Adventures, Mr. Hideo Nagatani from Aurora Village, Mr. Andrew Stanley, a trapper from Hay River, Mr. Fernando Alvarez of Jacques Cartier Clothing and Mr. Dylan Dix of Crossworks Manufacturing.

Collectively we offered a significant, multi-sector mission highlighting the opportunities that exist within our territory’s key sectors. In the interest of NWT businesses, our objective was, in part, to leverage a greater share of the immense and growing market in Asia for luxury products and travel vacations.

To that end, we showcased our fur and diamonds in foremost international fashion venues like the 41st Annual Fur and Leather Show in Beijing and the International Jewellery Fair in Tokyo.

Due to its high quality, limited supply and the sustainable and humane manner in which it is harvested, our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs are being increasingly sought by socially and fashion-conscious consumers in Asia.

Almost immediately following our meetings with fur buyers at the Beijing Fur and Leather Show, we were advised that five new clients had registered to buy our wild fur at the upcoming March sale in Helsinki.

Meanwhile, our endorsement of a proposed MOU between the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Fur Institute of Canada has advanced that initiative to a point where it may be signed in the next three weeks. This is a big step not only for the spirit of cooperation that it represents but also for the fundamental role that it will play in protecting our collective interests in the fur industry.

Our presentations and meetings on tourism netted similar immediate results. Two new and major tour operators have come forward since our mission,

with plans to package and sell the NWT product in China. With upwards of 100,000 Chinese travelling annually, it represents an extraordinary potential return on our investment and the possibility of even greater growth in our territory’s Aurora industry, already reaching record performance measures.

The Premier and I also met with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to provide an update on the creation of the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link and growth of the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility. The establishment of a fixed fibre optic link opens the door for a broad range of satellite-related activities for investors interested in projects relating to data harvesting. We believe the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency could be a strong partner with the NWT and Canada with a joint venture similar to those already established with other international partners.

Mr. Speaker, beyond our work to stimulate interest, investment and economic growth for NWT businesses, our second mission to China has served to add prestige and credibility to our relationships with the governments that guide and govern this trade. The Canadian Ambassador to China, Mr. Guy Saint-Jacques, communicated to us and to Chinese government officials during our meetings, the significance of the GNWT’s investment in building relations through this return mission to China. Our trip served also to open doors with investors interested in learning more about the exciting opportunities that exist in our territory. I would like to express my appreciation to both Ambassador Saint-Jacques and to Mr. Mackenzie Clugston, Canada’s Ambassador to Japan. The success of our trade mission would not have been possible without the outstanding support given by both of the Ambassadors and their staff.

Opportunities for investment are being increasingly sought and recognized by the Chinese in particular. These investments are not necessarily limited to non-renewable resources. Since our mission, the Canadian Consulate in Shanghai has received an inquiry from a company currently exporting Canadian freshwater fish to China and looking for additional sources of high-quality products.

Mr. Speaker, we are acting on the momentum established by this mission and responding to immediate inquiries. I look forward to sharing more detailed information with Members of this House in person and in subsequent meetings and briefings.

I can assure Members that we will continue to encourage and nurture a strong network of relationships and investments in China and Japan and in other international markets. Our growing political and reciprocal relationship with these nations is one that articulates the full value of the potential that exists for our territory and the returns that can be realized from investors, corporations

and even nations that are interested in partnering and investing in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is supposed to provide high-quality health care to the NWT residents no matter where they live. Yet, in the smallest communities, places like Tsiigehtchic, people don’t have year-round access to a nurse.

I’ve raised this concern many times. It’s a stressful situation. Residents are scared that something terrible may happen and they won’t have backup when they need it most. The idea for a full-time nurse made it into the Health and Social Services 2010-11 Business Plan, but the Minister of the day reneged on that commitment.

On February 7, 2013, another promise was made. Then Health Minister Tom Beaulieu stated that the department was working with the community leaders in the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority to try to provide nursing services and physician services in Tsiigehtchic. When I asked Minister Beaulieu if he would commit to an interim measure, a pilot project to hire a licenced practical nurse, he said an unequivocal yes. That was two years ago but nothing materialized.

My last exchange on this topic took place October 27, 2014. Minister Abernethy assured me that the government is, “always looking for ways to enhance the services that we provide in our communities.” He stated that the department is doing research to bring forward new tools for enhancing care in our communities. Minister Abernethy also acknowledged that a community without a full-time nurse is vulnerable in the event of a medical emergency.

All this, and yet the Minister hasn’t brought about any substantial changes. For too long Tsiigehtchic residents have had unreliable access to health care.

I will be asking questions to the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement will be somewhat close to

what Mr. Blake has been talking about, some of the communities that have not some of these essential services in our communities. Mr. Blake is talking about full-time nurses in our communities, and I believe there are eight communities that do not have full-time nurses in our communities and, you know, we do with what we have. The small communities pull together, you know, and do the best they can.

Year after year as an MLA, we come before the government and ask if it would be possible to put in a full-time nurse, or even, in one of our 11 communities, to put in an RCMP officer, and the government always comes back with some enormous cost to meet that request, and they always have come back with not having enough money or haven’t planned for it, or it doesn’t quite meet the criteria. Even with our schooling, with the quality of education. It’s a matter of fact that the latest report from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment says that in our small communities, 50 percent of our students are not up to par in the grade level. You know, in 2015 we’ve got to fight doubly hard to get the grades that we want for our students, otherwise we’re just toying with them.

We want to ask this government, are there other ways that we can help on this side, and I believe that we can. I believe we can help make some changes with the bureaucrats for their own people’s attitudes and minds of how do we do things. You know, why do we have to spend $100,000 to house one inmate if we change some behaviour? Or when people are drinking excessively, we spend somewhere around $14,000 at Nats’ejee K’eh to put them in a 28-day treatment program.

I believe we need that type of thinking amongst ourselves, in our communities, to make changes to deal with what we have to do within today’s budget.

I’ll ask the Minister questions later on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the most important recommendations to come out of the last Energy Charrette was the need for the creation of an NWT energy efficiency act. Some of us have pushed for this throughout our term but have been sloughed off by costly ministerial statements like, “I believe communities know what needs to be done.”

Getting this act in place needs to be a priority for this government. Given the dollars that go to energy costs and the effect energy production has on the

cost of living and environment, it’s unbelievable that we don’t have one already. Leaving this for the 18th Assembly is unacceptable.

Government has been quick to see the savings realized through our own use of alternative energy sources: pellet boilers, solar arrays and energy conservation initiatives. With a short five- or six-year payback, Diavik has shown that wind power is eminently feasible here.

Liezl van Wyk, Diavik rep speaking to the Energy Charrette regarding their wind power project, stated that building this sort of infrastructure should be a condition for any future project and asked, why didn’t the GNWT require this a long time ago? Indeed.

BC, Alberta, Ontario and other jurisdictions in Canada have energy efficiency acts and have for years. The opportunity to draw on their experience and our own considerable internal experience can easily be tapped and drawn together for timely legislation this term. Such an act can provide long overdue energy efficiency standards that must be met for buildings, equipment and operations.

Studies by Jaccard and Associates have indicated that savings enabled by energy efficiency legislation can amount to 14 percent on greenhouse gas emissions and that actions will more than pay for themselves. Such savings will directly lower the cost of living, decrease harmful environmental impacts and help build sustainable communities.

We do not need to reinvent the wheel in the Northwest Territories. We do need to set standards for a sustainable, long-term Energy Strategy. The government is ready; industry is signalling cooperation, and the people of the North are calling for action now.

Mr. Speaker, let’s acknowledge the obvious relevance of the charrette recommendation for such an act and get it done. With our new responsibility, this government must set clear targets for government, residential and commercial/industrial energy efficiency. We executed the Energy Charrette; we must start to work towards completing a sustainable, energy-efficient, economically and socially responsible NWT energy policy. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s usual for people who have the experience from traumatic events in their lives to have flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories when something terrible happens. What I’m talking about is post-traumatic

stress disorder, also referred to as PTSD. It is a mental illness that affects a lot of people. It doesn’t matter which demographic you’re in, it affects people all over the world. It’s exposure to trauma that might be involved in death or a threat of death; it could be a serious injury, an accident, violence, natural disasters, even crime.

There are various symptoms when people are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. I won’t get into all the details there, but what I really want to focus on in my Member’s statement today is those people in our communities who are helping our residents and helping government-run programs: the first responders, the service providers that we think are strong enough to do the work. These are the ones that are going to the accidents, going to the deaths and trying to help people out. Paramedics, physicians, doctors, nurses, firefighters, RCMP, in some cases, the big ones are our coroners across the Northwest Territories. I do want to give recognition to the Department of Justice for the compassionate training they are putting on for the coroners across the Northwest Territories.

In some cases, these are our hard-to-recruit positions, so if we don’t have the services to help them out when they’re dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, there’s a good chance that we will lose them and they’ll go somewhere else.

There’s a need for awareness and education in this area throughout the Northwest Territories and within our own service system and we need people to speak up about their experiences, and as a government we need to provide the proper quality of support to help these individuals with the mental illness that they will be experiencing.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions later today for the Minister of Health and Social Services on what kind of services are we providing to our first responders and service providers in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to raise the idea of a seniors advocate. As seniors represent an increasing percentage of the NWT population, the initial mandate of a seniors advocate could focus on helping seniors who are seeking or receiving health care supports and services.

This is a fairly new concept. Not quite a year ago, the Government of British Columbia announced the appointment of Isobel Mackenzie as Canada’s very first seniors advocate. As the voice of seniors in BC, Ms. Mackenzie has the broad mandate to

monitor and review system-wide issues affecting the well-being of seniors and raise awareness about resources available to them. The BC seniors advocate will also make recommendations to government and to those who deliver seniors services related to health care, personal care, housing, transportation and income support.

In the NWT a seniors advocate could work in concert with the NWT Seniors’ Society. It could help them expand our services to our growing older population. The seniors advocate could perform any or all of the following duties:

First, advocacy, such as identifying gaps in our services, providing policy advice to government about services for seniors and proposing legislative changes.

Second, provide information and advice to government and to seniors. This could build on the good work that the NWT Seniors’ Society does now, things like providing resources, ensuring the flow of information to and from seniors and advocating for seniors issues.

Third, they could receive and refer concerns and complaints. This is especially needed in regards to elder abuse and health care services.

Fourth, improve public awareness and communication. Awareness and promotion of the role of a seniors advocate, coordination of education about seniors and seniors’ issues and respond to inquiries from the public.

Lastly, collaborate and engage with seniors and other groups. The advocate can work with voluntary and community advocacy groups to help identify key issues of concern to seniors, seek out the opinions and priorities of seniors and ensure that their views are heard and understood.

All of these concepts should be explored by the GNWT for value. This is an opportunity for the GNWT to meet head on the challenge of responding to the aging of the NWT population. By providing assistance to our elders, we can promote healthy and productive aging and create a society in which older people’s voices are heard and respected.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

The office of a seniors advocate could have a key role in supporting a shift in public attitude by promoting and celebrating the positive aspects of aging, including the invaluable experience and wisdom that comes with older age. I urge the government to consider this initiative and to respond. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last Thursday our Finance Minister said, “We do not have the revenue growth necessary to make all these investments possible and we are constrained by our $800 million borrowing limit to borrow to make strategic investments.” As I further listened even closer, he points out that on the revenue side, resource revenues are expected to be $41 million lower and corporate taxes $24 million lower than estimated in the last budget. He points out that this is a perfect storm of shocks that has reduced our $100 million cushion borrowing limit to $70 million.

This is unwelcome news. Let me start off by saying this, I think we can all agree that our Stanton Territorial Hospital needs a mid-life upgrade, but we heard the state of our finances and I certainly am sure that we can all agree to some extent that we all believe strongly in our gold standard health care offered in the North and it needs to be protected. However, when we need to make strategic investments, we must examine them extremely closely, especially after hearing the Finance Minister’s state of our financial affairs.

If this government’s coffers are bare, as highlighted by our Finance Minister, where is the money going to come from, because this government has chosen the most expensive path to retrofit or renovate our Stanton Territorial Hospital.

When communities and regions are screaming for infrastructure dollars, this government is throwing them to the wind.

I have talked to many people in the construction industry and I’ve even talked to two of the three bidders on the Stanton Territorial Project, and everyone is in full agreement, renovating Stanton while the doors are open, full business and operating is the most expensive option this government could even dream of. This government must have more money to throw away than ever, because it’s not a question of the merits of the renovation, it’s about the process of how we’re going to renovate.

For years I’ve been asking about this process. Why don’t we build new? Why don’t we connect to the existing hospital? Because it would be cheaper, and the government always said, well, if the bidders want to come back that way with that option, then we’ll look at it. I’ve been recently informed that that option has been pulled from the table so only the three contractors welcome to bid on the Stanton Territorial Project provide a renovation option. This will grossly lead us down to the lane of the poorhouse. We must find a more financially suitable way to do this. It is expensive. We should have that discussion now, and we will later today in this House.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to say I’ve been smoke-free of cigarettes since November 10, 2014. Before this time, I would wake up first thing in the morning and have a coffee and a cigarette, smoke up to about four packages of cigarettes a week, and experience exhaustion and fatigue. I could only smoke outside, and the smell of cigarettes clung to my clothes.

I thought of quitting smoking cigarettes for a long time. [English translation not provided.]

Like many of my peers, I started smoking as a teenager as it looked cool and helped me fit into the crowd. Tobacco use also extended to my parents and grandparents. Smoking or chewing is very common in my community.

Smoking causes cancer, and I found that out with the passing of my parents who both died of cancer. Lung cancer caused by smoking is usually fatal, and so is throat or oral cancers related to smoking.

I challenge other MLAs and leaders to quit smoking cigarettes.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, the Department of ITI launched a new brand promoting Great Slave Lake fish. The Hay River MLAs were pleased to participate in the launch in Hay River. We would like to thank the local ITI staff as well as Super 8 and Steve Anderson. I would also like to thank Poison Graphics for my apron. It was exciting to encourage Northerners to buy more local fish.

As you know, Hay River has a strong history in fishing. In the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s we had many fishing companies in Hay River. The fishing industry has changed. We have a few dedicated fishermen currently that catch at least a million pounds a year of the two million pound quota, so we have lots of room to grow.

We need to increase this industry. It’s renewable, it’s good local quality, and we know that fish is a healthy living choice. We need to have northern fish in our hospitals, correctional facilities, restaurants, grocery stores, and at all our kitchen tables.

Right now most of the fish caught in the Northwest Territories on the Great Slave Lake is shipped south with the Freshwater Marketing Corporation. We need to sell more locally. The recent promotion

was great but we need to make the next step. We need to be able to package it in the North, sell it in the North, sell it in all the stores in the North and all those facilities I spoke of earlier. Dozens of people came to me during that promotion and said, can I buy the fish here in the store, and the answer is no. So we’ve missed that connection. We need to work on that next step of getting that fish packaged in the Northwest Territories in a fish plant in Hay River, and I will have questions for the Minister on how we get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What was touted as a band-aid approach upon closure of the only territorial addictions treatment centre in the NWT, our current Minister of Health and Social Services assured all Northerners the southern withdrawal management and treatment services would be temporary.

If we fast-forward to today, we see this temporary promise is now permanently enshrined in policy. Therefore, the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Government Operations from its work on Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act, the government commissioned a report to look at the best options for withdrawal management in the NWT. This report was completed on March 31, 2014, shared with committee on August 27, 2014, and is on the department’s website.

For starters, we need to set the right definition in place. What is meant when we say withdrawal management? Simply put, withdrawal management, commonly known as detox, can involve either medical or non-medical intervention. Those with severe risk of withdrawal problems, such as shock or seizures, require medical supervision and this service is only available in Yellowknife and Inuvik hospitals. Those who are deemed non-medical risk for withdrawal services only have the option of a six-bed facility provided by the Salvation Army in Yellowknife.

Therefore, one could safely say that initial withdrawal management is extremely limited in the NWT and as of today there are still no follow-up residential treatment options for our residents on home soil. Sadly, in addition, the NWT does not support any home base, mobile or on-the-land withdrawal management services in its toolbox for addictions.

The good news is we do have options to improve and enhance our current Withdrawal Management System. Even when faced with geopolitical challenges, the question is: Do we have the vision

for such investments? We need to understand how the future changes of withdrawal management will fit into the new, yet to be seen Mental Health Act, especially with respect to involuntary admissions.

Lacking still is our establishment of multiple points of entry for withdrawal management at regional and community levels where policy is quiet. As well, we cannot forget about all our first point of contact people, such as RCMP and child protection workers. These folks need ongoing training in such areas as withdrawal management, best practices, harm reduction and assessment tools.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Many of these recommendations are found in this report, a report that has been in the hands of the department for almost a year. Therefore, it’s time to ask our Minister to rip off his band-aid and allow the scab of our past to fully heal.

I’ll have questions later today for the Minister as to what he has been doing in addressing withdrawal management for the past year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to join my colleague from Hay River North and talk about the Great Slave Lake fishery. I too attended the branding exercise that was organized and promoted by Industry, Tourism and Investment and I thank them for that, but we have a ways to go yet.

As most people know, commercial fishing was an integral foundation to the economy in Hay River and we always say that the success of the economy in Hay River is based on how diversified it is.

Industries come and go and sometimes there are good reasons for that. In this particular case there is no reason why we should not still have a very viable commercial fishing industry around Great Slave Lake, headquartered, of course, in Hay River where the majority of fishers live at this time in the West Channel and in the town of Hay River.

I love Great Slave Lake fish. It’s like gold. I think we can say, without anybody challenging us, that it is the best fish in the world. It comes from clear, clean, cold waters and sometimes when I have to go pick up an order of fish for our little diner, I see it in those big buckets all nicely packaged and filleted and it looks like gold to me. When I hear there’s a whole truck gone off to Yellowknife, of course I’m happy for the fishermen, but when you find it, it’s

not like getting 10 pounds of ground beef. It is very special; it’s a beautiful product and it tastes great. It is, as my colleague said, extremely good for us.

So it is a renewable, sustainable, wonderful product. It offsets the cost of living, if we could consume more fish, but we do have a ways to go.

I know the Department of ITI has had many programs and studies in the past to look at how we can enhance the commercial fishery. I know they’ve done everything from buy aluminum hull vessels for the fishermen to take out onto the lakes so they can harvest differently, to… They’ve done a lot of things. I could list a lot of things that have been done over the years, but the bottom line , at the end of the day, is fishing is extremely hard work. We have to find ways to make sure that it is economically viable enough to keep people engaged in the industry.

I’m very pleased that the economic opportunities report did highlight commercial fishing as an industry in the North which does need to be supported and enhanced, and to that end, we do look forward to further initiatives that we know are on the horizon for the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake. We look forward to seeing those rolled out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize some important visitors to the gallery today. I’d like to recognize Celine Proctor, government services officer, Fort Good Hope; also Priscilla Betsaka, government services officer, Nahanni Butte; and Dan O’Neill, regional director. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a constituent of mine who just came back from Toronto, I believe, Celine Proctor. I remember her talking about her job. She says, “I just love this job here.” No wonder; you can see it here. So I want to recognize Celine Proctor, Dan O’Neill and the other guests up in the gallery. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Premier some questions and congratulate the Government of the Northwest Territories and the model of the single window service centre as being formally recognized as an innovative management approach.

I want to ask the Premier, is this type of thinking that is going forward in regards to the type of budget that we’re dealing with that we need some innovative management leadership thinking in our regions? Can this type of model be recognized in the Northwest Territories on a regional level approach, say, in the Sahtu, in regards to how they do business in our region or any other regions in the North?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re always looking at innovative ways to improve the delivery of government services and programs. In this case, with the single window service delivery model, we’re able to do it by converting resources from within.

I always go back to Albert Einstein, who said insanity was where you tried to solve problems by doing the same things over and over again. So this way we can improve our services by doing things differently and innovatively. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This morning I was reading a book and I thought that it would be very unique if the regions got together themselves and sort of formed an innovative, taking the bold steps to improve, as Mr. Premier talked about, ways to improve our efficiency, our government, with the kind of funds that we get, to take the bold steps and even to model after Albert Einstein, one of the great thinkers, to look after how we can do business better in our regions with the amount of money we have, because we’ve always been asking, for example, for a new RCMP or a nurse or, you know, to improve education in our region.

Can that be implemented or looked at in our regions where we can get the thinkers together to say this is how we can do business in the Sahtu and be recognized? Thank you.

I’d be pleased to explore this further with the Member. I think it would be a question of what form would be the best one to use. We have a number of different avenues where we meet with community leaders in the Sahtu, but I’d

be pleased to explore this further with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That’s a bold step the Premier is taking. I’d like to ask him, in regards to the forum that we could have some…(inaudible)…could we look at, within the time that we have left in this government, a process, a step-by-step to say this could possibly work in regards to having this type of leadership and creative thinking with improving our efficiency in our government?

As my colleague to the right of me says, we have 286 days left in our mandate, so I’m sure that we can find a day or two to explore this further. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you. I think that’s okay. I want to ask the Premier, with the work that’s going forward and what we’re discussing here, can that somehow go out now to the regional levels to the executive and say that we want to look at this, even just to put ideas together so we can have some further discussions on how we get together in terms of having this type of think-tank in our regions?

I’ll get our crackerjack team together and we’ll come up with some options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As it stands, the service delivery model does not authorize funding for a full-time nurse in Tsiigehtchic. Last October Minister Abernethy told the House that his department is looking into best practices in other remote areas in Canada and around the world. The purpose, he said, is to access our service delivery model and examine models from other jurisdictions to see how, if at all, they can be applied here in the Northwest Territories.

Minister Abernethy further stated that, “A review of the Integrated Service Delivery Model, medical travel, community health work training and the utilization of telehealth are being incorporated into the review of this review.”

Will the Minister give an update on the status of these reviews and what can be expected in the way of a renewed Service Delivery Model? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Health, Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reviews the Member is talking about

are all part of the entire health transformation we’re going through right now where we’re looking at how we’re providing services in all communities throughout the Northwest Territories in order to enhance services. That work is ongoing. The legislation will be coming in front of this House shortly and the planning will continue through to 2016, when we hope to go live.

But at the same time, we’re not just waiting for that to happen. We are implementing Med-Response, which I’ve mentioned several times in the House. We did a soft launch in November and we’re looking at doing a hard launch here in the middle of the month. During the soft launch of that program, we have seen that communities where there are no nurses, CHRs are able to call into that number and get the support and direction they need.

We are trying to do a number of things, and at the same time, we continue to review what other jurisdictions are doing around other types of professionals, community-based professionals, people from the communities that provide services in communities like Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Minister Abernethy stated in this House that he has been told that one of the major concerns in remote communities is emergency response. He also stated, and he just mentioned, that the department is in the midst of rolling out Med-Response, which will have a direct positive impact on the service delivery in places like Tsiigehtchic.

Can the Minister inform this House when residents of Tsiigehtchic will have access to Med-Response and how can they access it after hours? Thank you.

In addition to Med-Response, I also mentioned some training on first responder training. I know that MACA has already begun delivering training on first responder in Tsiigehtchic. I believe that started in June 2014.

With respect to Med-Response, the residents are not the individuals who would call Med-Response, it would be the professionals in the community; in this case the CHR or CHW that happen to be in Tsiigehtchic. Thank you.

I don’t think the Minister knows some of the situations that the community goes through. Many times a lot of these emergencies are during the evening, even after midnight sometimes.

What can the community do in situations like this? Many times when people phone these numbers for assistance, they are asked to give basically the diagnostics of what the patient is going through. Many of the people that are responding don’t have this medical training. You almost have to be a doctor to get help in our small communities.

What can our communities do in cases like this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is true for all the communities in the Northwest Territories where we don’t have emergency rooms, so many of our small communities are in this particular situation.

When an individual in one of these communities is sick or experiencing an emergency, there are numbers they can call into their health centre, whether it’s a community health nurse or, in the case of Tsiigehtchic, CHR or CHW, or in Tsiigehtchic they may actually choose to call the emergency room. Those professionals will still be able to contact Med-Response to help coordinate medical response in those communities it if requires medical travel or air ambulance but also to provide some clinical direction. So those individuals will still need to call the numbers that they call today.

If the Member has some concerns about the numbers that need to be called in Tsiigehtchic, I would be happy to sit down with the Member and address those concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are still waiting a formal policy change in the service delivery model. In the meantime, I have a practical suggestion. The current arrangement has a nurse visiting Tsiigehtchic one day a week for most of the year.

Will the Minister commit to funding a nurse to spend two days a week in Tsiigehtchic instead of just one, as most of that is due to travel? Thank you.

In Tsiigehtchic, a community of 128 people, we do have a public health nurse going in there one day a week. I hear the Member; we will certainly take that under consideration, but we also have two times a year where there is a public health nurse in the community for six weeks at a time. There is some room for discussion and I would be happy to have that conversation with the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Public Works and Services. Today I am following up on my Member’s statement.

The Energy Charrette held three months ago released its report a month and a half ago. One of its key findings was the urgent need for an energy efficiency act for the Northwest Territories. Getting this act in place needs to be a priority for us.

Will the Minister please confirm to the House that such an act is indeed being worked on by his officials for adoption during the life of this Assembly? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The energy efficiency act was last amended in September of 2009. We were currently using it up until December 2014. There will be another review of the consolidated energy efficiency act.

Any time there are energy codes or anything, regulations in the act, then the Department of Public Works uses the current energy efficiency act. Thank you.

I didn’t hear that the Minister was going to put this act in place.

Again, the charrette was very clear in its view that the energy efficiency act would be a cornerstone towards a secure energy future, economic sustainability, environmental responsibility and, most importantly, reducing the cost of living. To now leave this important work for some review later on in the 18th Assembly would make a bad track

record even worse.

Will the Minister commit to bringing this act forward for adoption during the life of this Assembly?

Public Works and Services will be involved in organizing a construction workshop here in Yellowknife that’s an annual thing. That will be occurring sometime in April. What we will be doing as one of the topics will be discussing the energy efficiency act. Actually, sorry, I believe that’s in the middle of this month is when the date of that workshop will be occurring.

Thank you for that information from the Minister. Glad to hear that’s happening. That’s part of regular business. Unfortunately, we’ve had lots of meetings during the last six or eight years like this and the Association of Communities has raised the need for an energy efficiency act and standards.

Will the Minister, again, commit to bringing forward this legislation for adoption by the 17th Assembly?

Third time.

I’m not sure that the department would be in the position to complete a legislative proposal to look at the energy efficiency act for the Northwest Territories. Currently, we are using the energy efficiency act that is used across the country. We use the energy efficiency and national energy efficiency codes when we do our buildings and make sure that all of our buildings are under the National Energy Code. These are building that are designed that exceed most of the energy efficiency requirements across the entire country and within the Northwest Territories. I’m

assuming that Nunavut and the Yukon also have highly energy-efficient units, but we can compare well to any of the national standards. We do exceed the national standards in energy efficiency. But to actually commit to bringing a legislative proposal to the Assembly on the energy efficiency act would be something that I would need to discuss with the people that will be putting the legislative proposal forward, because I don’t know the timing on that. I would not be able to commit, but I will be prepared to have that discussion with the department as soon as I was able to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister’s response is entirely unacceptable. This has been raised repeatedly, and now through our expensive Energy Charrette – yet another one – it has been raised as the answer to a lot of our issues and providing benefits including addressing the cost of living.

How often does this need to be done? Now we’re sloughing it off again. The Minister is giving responses like need to discuss, we’ll try and discuss, don’t know what the timing would be like.

For goodness sake, this is long overdue. Long overdue. Lots of other jurisdictions in Canada have done this. It has been raised repeatedly. It has been raised in a workshop that we funded to get this done.

That response is entirely unacceptable. I have no further questions.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about what kind of services we have in terms of supporting some of our first responder service providers in the Northwest Territories, who, I must say, are identified as having some of the highest rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. These are our firefighters, our doctors, our nurses, RCMP. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

What is our government and the department doing in terms of reaching out to these service providers and making sure that they do have the supports should they need them?

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We don’t actually have any programs at this time dedicated strictly or particularly to post-

traumatic stress disorder, but we do have psychiatric assessment and treatment that is available both on an in-patient and outpatient basis. So if an individual is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, they can access outpatient care or treatment through a referral from a nurse or a doctor or other professionals here in the Northwest Territories. So I would strongly encourage individuals who are going through this to get in touch with their medical practitioners. Thank you.

Thank you. In some cases just talking about mental illness is a tough thing to do for anybody, even if you are a doctor and understand the situation, to bring up the issues and the symptoms that you’re dealing with. Particularly in the North because we have such a small population there’s a good chance that if you end up in an event you might know the person and that can really cause really high stress and make you more vulnerable to PTSD.

I’d like to ask the Minister, other than what he’s said now, how are we getting that information out to these first respondents as well as to the doctors and nurses?

How are we getting the information that there are those resources that he mentioned available? Thank you.

We’re trying to do a number of things to increase awareness of mental health issues here in the Northwest Territories. We did release a magazine last year, which was Mind and Spirit, which encourages people to read, talk and understand mental health issues. One thing I’d like to encourage all Members to do, as well as all the Ministers and all residents of the Northwest Territories, is to take Mental Health First Aid. That creates an awareness in the individuals so they can recognize when people they know might be struggling.

At the same time, we do have community counseling programs that are available. This is free counseling available to individuals who are either suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or may know somebody that is and they can refer them to. A lot of these situations the Member is talking about actually occur while the individual happens to be on duty or at work. Many organizations do have employee and family assistance programs. I would encourage individuals to access their employee and family assistance programs to begin the process of healing.

I would also suggest that individuals should call the NWT Helpline, which may be another resource for individuals who may not be willing or prepared to talk to either a friend or somebody they know, but might be interested in getting some advice from somebody that’s a little bit more anonymous.

So there are a number of programs out there. We are constantly trying to encourage people to talk about mental health issues, to create awareness and lead people to the help they need. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I went to World Cancer Day, and talking to some of the individuals, they have a speaking forum, or a talking circle group here in Yellowknife, which is a great way to talk about it. So I was wondering if the Minister has any resources available that he can set up some type of forum for our first responders that want to get together and talk about these kinds of issues.

Are there any resources in the operations budget or any resources that he can think of that we can address this in a talking circle forum? Thank you.

Thank you. That’s certainly an interesting concept and certainly something that I will have the department look at. At this time I cannot say that there are actual funds available to do this exact thing, this exact roundtable of conversation, but it’s something that’s certainly interesting and I’ll have the department take a look at it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary again, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We talked about the Mental Health Act and post-traumatic stress disorder. So I just want to ask the Minister – I know we’re going through a review of one of the bills – under one of the provisions in the Mental Health Act it talks about involuntary admission. Sometimes when a person who has mental illness doesn’t want to admit themselves, they have people they work with that care about them.

Are there any amendments being made that we can make right now to the Mental Health Act that can address these issues? Thank you.

The Mental Health Act is currently in the process of being completely rewritten. Timing-wise to do an amendment and then interfere with the process that’s underway might actually slow things up.

The types of issues the Member is talking about are going to be addressed under the Mental Health Act. We had hoped to have the Mental Health Act in front of this House in the life of this government, but it’s taking a little longer to draft than we had thought. We think we may be done drafting in the summer, which means we’re not going to have enough time to bring it to the House to go for first, second and third readings.

So, what I would like to propose to do is, as soon as the bill is done, in our August sitting I would like to table that document so that it is available to the

public to review and consider, so that it can be the first bill that is going through first, second and third readings in the 18th Legislative Assembly. Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and I’d like to initially thank the Minister for the MACA fall update which we received a little while ago. One of the pages in the update talks about municipal access to information and protection of privacy legislation, and this is a recommendation from the Information and Privacy Commissioner which has been stated for many years running. Those recommendations from the Information and Privacy Commissioner have been supported by the standing committee again for many years running. But recently the government seemed to agree, and as the update states, we entered into a process of consultations, and apparently there was a discussion paper put out.

So, my first question to the Minister is to ask what the status is of these consultations and the discussion paper. How close are we to seeing some finite end to this long process? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would have to get the update on that and provide it to the Member. I don’t have it with me right now, so I’ll take the Member’s question as notice. Thank you.

---Question taken as notice

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today, I talked about the Stanton Territorial Project that’s coming before us. It’s not an issue of the merits of the renovations, I think those are well-articulated out there how important this facility, this hospital is to the Northerners and we need to make sure it’s kept up to speed and certainly up to date and able to provide the needed services. The issue really comes down to this, and it’s about the money, how we renovate.

So I’m going to ask the Minister of Public Works these questions, which first off is: Why is the path of Public Works particularly focused in on building up Stanton Hospital while it’s in full operation, rather than building either new or building a separate addition to it and attaching it later on? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been determined that the Stanton Hospital still has a lot of building left in it. It was built with the concept that at one point there would be a full mid-life retrofit, and we can’t shut the hospital down.

There have been many incidents where they have done mid-life retrofits to hospitals and they continue the operation of the hospital. It would be difficult for us to relocate the hospital while we’re doing a mid-life retrofit to it. Thank you.

For a couple years I’ve been asking about providing an opportunity to build a new hospital or at least a new fully independent wing attached to the hospital, because it makes better sense to make new than to renovate a hospital while it’s in full operation.

The Department of Public Works has always said, well, if that’s the choice of the bidders, then that’s the one we’ll examine, of course, and the best value for Northerners is the way we’ll go. It’s been my understanding that that has been taken off the table, and the three bidders, I was speaking to one a couple days ago and they said that option was taken off the table.

So, why is that the case that the government wants to renovate a hospital that’s up and running, rather than building a new wing and attaching it to it, which would make the most sense to build new, rather than renovate? Thank you.

The budget that we were looking at for the hospital at the point when we had gone out to RFP, looked like in order to bring that in on the budget that we were looking at would be to renovate, renew the hospital while the hospital is in operation. If one of the proprietors is able to come in at a cost that was equal or lower for a new site, new building and everything, then the government would take a look at that as well. It’s not off the table. Thank you.

In speaking to two of the three invited contractors as well as speaking to a number of people in the construction industry here locally, they have all estimated that renovating the hospital while it is in full operation could run anywhere in the range of 20 to 30 percent more than what the project should cost.

These are estimates now, granted I know that, but why is this government so fixated on renovating a hospital that it costs us so much more than just

building a new additional wing to it? The fact is that is the truth of the reality, we are going to spend a lot more than necessary. Why is the government fixated on this?

Finally, Mr. Speaker, have they ever been given advice, their own advice, that it would be cheaper to build an addition on it than it would be to renovate it while it is in operation?

Part of the reconstruction of the hospital is to add a wing or a section onto the hospital while we are doing the hospital. So the hospital will actually expand in size by an additional 30 to 40 percent. That does include a wing to the existing hospital, if that is what is most efficient. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Industry has told me that it could run anywhere between 20 and 30 percent more because we are going to renovate and build while it is in full operation. I want to understand, does the Department of Public Works realize and accept that additional costs of this project, which we all know is going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is the department proceeding with that full knowledge and appreciation that additional costs are unnecessarily being borne by the taxpayer when we can’t even afford it? I am not going back to the Finance Minister’s statements, but he has illustrated quite clearly that the cupboard is financially bare. Thank you.

If the proprietors were able to come in with a new hospital, new construction, 30 percent bigger than what we have in place, 30 to 40 percent bigger than the current hospital, with a more reasonable cost than renovating and expanding the hospital, of course we would go with a new hospital, but at this point we were thinking that this would be the most efficient way to go. Once the proprietors are able to look at the project and cost the project out, we would have a better idea of which direction to go. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. What are the current rates of smoking in the Northwest Territories? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t remember the exact rates off the top of my head but I do know that we have some of the highest rates in Canada. Thank you.

What is the Department of Health and Social Services doing to help people quit smoking cigarettes? Mahsi.

There are a number of things that we are doing to encourage people to quit smoking or to reduce the amount they smoke, preferably quit smoking. We are promoting some services, resources, tools to help people quit smoking, such as the NWT Helpline, we have tobacco cessation aids, we are continuing to promote things like National Non-Smoking Week, and we are also promoting World No Tobacco Day. We are putting together some new websites, building upon the good work that was done with the Don’t Be a Butthead campaign. Those resources or tools still exist and we will continue to hand those out until we are out of them, but we are working with some of our community health reps in the communities to tailor make programs for each individual community as well. Thank you.

I want to thank the Minister for his reply. One of the experiences that I have had is that you could approach your family doctor or physician in trying to assist you in terms of quitting cigarettes. They could offer a smoking cessation program. One of the examples of what kind of services that the people could find through their doctors is the patch, the Nicoderm patch, and that is what I personally use.

What is the department doing to reduce the overall impacts and costs to the health care system caused by chronic illness caused by smoking cigarettes and tobacco use? Mahsi.

One of the best ways to reduce the amount of smoking is to ensure that new people don’t start smoking, which is why we are working with the schools and the community health reps in the individual communities to tailor programs to suit, match or meet the needs of individual communities.

With respect to individuals that are already smokers, we are providing the NWT Helpline, and we also encourage them, if they need additional support, to talk to their physicians or health practitioners in their communities, who will be able to point them in a path of tools that might work for them on a cessation program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of the initiatives in trying to educate the public is prevention strategies, and the department should be commended in terms of doing the public

campaign in terms of informing citizens of the facts of smoking.

What are some other healthy living initiatives that the department is undertaking to combat the overall costs of cigarettes and cancer, and so forth that affect people in the NWT? Mahsi.

We have a number of different programs that we are working on. We do have a chronic disease prevention promotion program that is underway and we have programs like BETTER and other tools that are available in individual communities to residents across the Northwest Territories. In every one of those programs we talk about the value of not smoking, eating healthy and getting lots of exercise. Healthy people will be more productive, they will contribute to society more, they will be living better lives and, obviously, that will result in lower overall health care costs in the long term. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As indicated, we participated in the buy local, buy Great Slave Lake fish. One of the questions while we were there was, are we putting the cart before the horse? How do we promote? We have a new logo and launch, but we actually don’t put that fish in the store.

I would like to ask the Minister of ITI, how are we going to put fish into the stores and prepare that product for the stores? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of our plan is to have a marketing assistance available for fishers to get that product into stores. I want to thank MLA Bouchard and MLA Groenewegen for their efforts in Hay River on promoting fish from Great Slave Lake. I know we have an effort here in Yellowknife as well. At the end of the day, it is up to store owners whether or not they put the fish into their store for sale. I know, here in Yellowknife, that happens at the Yellowknife Co-op store and down in Hay River. Again, it speaks to the importance of us putting a new export grade processing fish facility in Hay River, and I think that is something that the department and the government is certainly intent on seeing happen.

We have had discussions with both the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, when they were here recently last week and, as well, during NWT Days in Ottawa I had the opportunity to sit down with Minister Shea from Fisheries and Oceans and also

explained our case for some support from CanNor with Minister Aglukkaq when it comes to supporting our $1.5 million that we have to put towards a new fish processing plant in Hay River. Thank you.

Obviously, the Minister is answering some of those questions, but the $1.5 million that the government has committed, have we got any commitment from the federal government to leverage any of our money to build this fish plant? We know it is going to cost more than $1.5 million. Has the Minister been able to obtain any financing from the federal government? Thank you.

In order to get a quality fish processing plant constructed in Hay River, it is probably going to cost just north of $5 million. We will need partners. CanNor, the federal government, Fisheries and Oceans and even Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation are the partners that we’re speaking with. We want to see this happen. We are committed to seeing this happen. The discussions are ongoing and hopefully they will, I’d like to say bear some fruit, but bear some fish.

Obviously, we have the $1.5 million in this year’s budget, so we’re looking to do this. Does the Minister have any plan going forward on when we would actually have a date to break ground on that plant?

With our discussions currently ongoing with CanNor, Fisheries and Oceans and FFMC, our hope is we’ll have some answers here shortly. I certainly would like to see ground broken on the new facility by the end of this year.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked about getting the fish into different agencies and I’m wondering if the Minister could talk to the Minister of Justice and get it into our correctional facilities. Is that a possibility?

I’ve been accused of talking to myself before, so yes, that could happen.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about the issue surrounding our lack of progress on withdrawal management services. Clearly, the department has been given guidance and reporting to make realistic changes in its approach for Northerners. We are constantly reminded by our Health Minister that the economies of scale prevent us from finding a made-in-the

North solution when it comes to withdrawal management and treatment addictions as a whole. This argument is used far too often as a means to justify bureaucratic policy. In essence, nothing would be done in the North if one used the economies of scale defence, as all services would be cheaper done down South.

My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As mentioned in my statement today, the Minister has had a report in hand since March of 2014 clearly spelling out opportunities to enhance our withdrawal management services in the Northwest Territories.

Can the Minister indicate what progress or timelines were made with those recommendations?